The Development of Atomic Theory

1
The Development of Atomic Theory
2
Do Theories in Science Stay the Same?

• Ideas and theories in Science change as new
  information is gathered. (question 1)
• Our theory about the atom has changed over time
  as new studies are done. Even though no one has
  ever seen an atom up close we are still able to
  make new discoveries just like we have made new
  discoveries about dinosaurs.

3
What do Dinosaurs and Atoms have in Common? (not
in notes)
No one has seen an atom or a dinosaur directly.
We know of their existence only by indirect
evidence. Our theories of both dinosaurs and
atoms has changed over time based on this
indirect evidence
4
This fossil evidence shows us that some dinosaurs
may evolved into birds.
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Who was Democritus?
Democritus was an ancient Greek philosopher who
lived from 460 - 370 B.C.
What did Democritus conclude about cutting matter
in half? There was a limit to how far you could
divide matter. You would eventually end up with a
piece of matter that could not be cut. He
thought matter is like motion. It cannot be
divided in half forever. The tortoise and hare
would never finish the race if you could keep
dividing the distance to the finish line in half
forever.
6
What does the Greek word atomos mean?

• The Greek word atomos means not able to be
  divided or indivisible.

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What did Democritus propose about the atom? (not
in notes)

• Atoms are small hard particles.
• Made of a single material thats formed into
  different shapes and sizes.
• They are always moving
• They form different materials by joining
  together.
• (Which of these statements do we now know are
  correct? Was Democritus pretty smart for someone
  who lived thousands of years ago?)

8

Why werent Democrituss ideas accepted? (not in
notes)

• Aristotle was a very famous Greek philosopher who
  believed that matter could be divided into
  smaller and smaller pieces forever. He held a
  very strong influence on popular belief and his
  views on this were accepted for two thousand
  years.

9
What is an Atom?

• An atom is the smallest particle that an element
  can be divided and still be that element.
• For example the smallest particle of carbon is a
  single atom of carbon. If you divide it is no
  longer carbon anymore.

PIECES OF CARBON
CARBON ATOM
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John Dalton 1776-1844

• Two thousand years later a British chemist and
  schoolteacher brings back Democrituss idea of
  the atom
• He performed many experiments to study how
  elements join together to form new substances
• He found that they combine in specific ratios
  (remember the electrolysis of water) and he
  supposed it was because the elements are made of
  atoms.

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What 3 new ideas did John Dalton propose about
the atom?

• All substances are made up of atoms which are
  small particles that cannot be created, divided,
  or destroyed.
• Atoms of the same element are exactly alike and
  atoms of different elements are different.
• Atoms join with other atoms to form different
  substances

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J.J. Thomson 1856-1940

• What particle did Thomson discover? J.J. Thomson
  discovered that atoms are made of smaller
  negatively-charged particles called electrons.
• Thomsons discovery was the result of doing
  experiments with cathode ray tubes

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Thomsons Cathode Ray Experiment
Stream of electrons is attracted to positively
charged plate here.
"What are these particles?are they atoms,
ormolecules, or matter in a stillfiner state of
subdivision? quote by Thomson
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The Plum Pudding Model

• Thomson did not know how the electrons in an atom
  were arranged. He believed they were mixed
  throughout an atom.
• He proposed that the atom was a sphere of
  positively charged material. Spread throughout
  the atom were the negatively charged electrons
  similar to plums in a pudding or chocolate chips
  in ice cream.

15
Ernest Rutherford(1871 - 1937)

• Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his
  discovery of alpha particles, positively charged
  particles emitted from radioactive elements
• Was a student of J.J. Thomson but disagreed with
  the Plum Pudding Model
• Devised an experiment to investigate the
  structure of positive and negative charges in the
  atom.

16
An Interactive Model of Rutherfords Gold Foil
Experiment
http//micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/java/ruther
ford Click here
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What did most of the particles shot at the gold
foil do?

• Most of the particles traveled straight through
  the gold foil

What was the surprising behavior of a few of the
particles?

• A few of the particles were deflected and some
  even bounced back

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Rutherfords Revised Atomic Theory (1911)

• Result Most of the positively charged particles
  went straight through the gold foil.
• Atomic Theory Most of the matter of the atom is
  found in a very small part of the atom. This is
  called the nucleus of the atom. It is very tiny
  and extremely dense.
• Result Some of the positively charged particles
  were deflected or even
• bounced back.
• Atomic Theory Like charges repel so the nucleus
  must have a positive charge. If electrons have a
  negative charge they could not be in a positively
  charged nucleus. Electrons must surround the
  nucleus at a distance.
• Result The diameter of the nucleus is 100,000
  times smaller than the diameter of the entire
  gold atom.
• Atomic Theory Atoms are mostly empty space with
  a tiny, massive nucleus at the center .

19
Why is the head of a pin compared to the diameter
of a stadium like an atom?
The diameter of a pinhead is 100,000 times
smaller than the diameter of a stadium. Likewise
the diameter of the nucleus of an atom is 100,000
times smaller than the diameter of an atom
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The Bohr Model of the AtomWhat did Bohr learn
about electron movement?

• Bohr proposed that electrons move in paths at
  certain distances around the nucleus.
• Electrons can jump from a path on one level to a
  path on another level.
• Click here http//www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/qu
  antumzone/bohr.html

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The Modern Theory of the Atom

• Electrons travel in regions called electron
  clouds
• You cannot predict exactly where an electron will
  be found

http//www.fearofphysics.com/Atom/atom3.html
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Energy Levels

• The energy that an electron has is based on
  its location around the nucleus. (Electrons that
  are closer to the nucleus have less energy than
  those that are farther away from the nucleus)

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How can bookshelves help you understand the
movement of electrons?

• Each shelf represents an energy level
• Each book represents an electron
• You can move a book to a higher or lower shelf
  with the correct amount of energy.
• A book cannot be between shelves
• (An electron can move by gaining or losing energy
  but can never be between energy levels)

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How small are atoms?
THERE ARE 2 X 1022 ATOMS IN A PENNY. If all the
atoms in a penny were blown up to the size of a
grain of sand they would cover the entire state
of California
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What can a scanning tunneling electron microscope
show us?

• These images do not show an actual picture of an
  atom. They show a color-enhanced image of the
  surface of a material at the atomic level.